A law firm that appears to specialize in suing publicly traded companies suffering publicly embarassing problems has turned its attention to Electronic Arts, specifically over Battlefield 4.

The "investigation" that Atlanta firm Holzer Holzer & Fistel has begun concerns whether EA "complied with federal securities laws" when the company was making statements about Battlefield 4 during its development and after its release. It's not a lawsuit, but sure sounds like the threat of one. It could also be PR for a firm dedicated to this kind of work.

Flagship first-person-shooter Battlefield 4 is so troubled that the game's development studio…
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That statement, to Kotaku, was dated Dec. 4; the law firm said it's looking into statements made between July 24 and Dec. 4. It didn't say what specifically was problematic about EA's statements.

The firm touts its focus on shareholder representation, and in the past six weeks has opened three other investigations, including one on Monday into Barnes & Noble, whose stock price dropped after the SEC announced it was investigating improper accounting practices there.

Electronic Arts' stock price has dropped about $4 since Nov. 12, and lost $2 the day after its Dec. 4 remarks on postponed DLC plans. It still is more than $5 higher than where it was at this time last year, and in September reached a five-year high.

Reached by Kotaku, Electronic Arts declined to comment on the firm's activity.